Saturday, April 23, Museum Pass, Day 2
Crossing over the Pont des Arts on our way to the Louvre we noticed these serious-looking handcuffs amongst the more routine lovers' locks. I'm just wondering a little about what that couple was thinking.
Anyway, we zipped into the Louvre and, what else? We went straight to the Mona Lisa.
You can't get too close to the lady nor can you get a good photo of her, but at least we can say we saw the most famous painting in the world.
There were many, many monumental works such as this one. Where did they gat all that paint?
Winged Victory was a pretty popular spot but it was up on a pedestal so at least you could see it and appreciate it.
This lady artist was getting a lot of attention for her pretty fair copy of , um, a famous work of art.
We got close up and personal with Rembrandt, Albrecht Durer, the Venus de Milo and the Three Graces as well as dozens of others. Overwhelming.
The Louvre Pyramid.
Another excellent picnic lunch, this time along the banks of the Seine near Pont des Arts. The girl in red.
After lunch we made our way toward Notre Dame, first stopping at the Conciergerie and then St Chapelle. The Parts of the Conciergerie dates to medieval times and has been a royal residence, seat of government and last but not least a prison. It was here that Marie Antoinette was held before, well, you know how that ended. That is a replica of the Lady on the right.
St Chapelle is famous for its amazing stained glass windows.
I wish my lame photography could do them justice.
Sainte Chapelle
We then waited in line to get a glimpse of the interior of Notre Dame. While waiting I took photos of saints and gargoyles. The gargoyles look like they're having more fun.
Notre Dame was big and impressive...and crowded and some guy on a p.a. system kept saying "SSHHHHHHH be quiet, this is a place of worship" in four of five different languages.
So naturally, we headed out for a Guinness then home for some re-grouping.
A couple vender stalls in Rue de Seine
Saturday dinner at Fish la Boissonnerie
20h, 2P, Jack, T5. That must be us, reserved table number 5 for two at 8PM under the name of "Jack". We had an excellent dinner, the server spoke English as did the owner/bar tender.
It was a nice, friendly place and a great way to end our Saturday in Paris.
Sunday, April24, Easter in Paris
We scheduled another day of walking and exploring. We headed upstream past St Michel and Notre Dame.
It was yet another beautiful day.
At the Jardin des Plantes we left the river and headed southwest through the gardens and side streets.
We stopped at the Arenes de Lutece, the ruins of a Roman amphitheater from the 1st century. It was pretty cool - there were a couple guys playing some decent music with a guitar and violin.
We made our way to Rue Mouffetard, a street that has been in service as a market street for centuries. At one corner there was a small band with an accordion player, guitar and so on, people dancing, speaking French...reminded me of New Orleans.
It was full of shops, cafe's, farm stands and colorful people. We needed wine.
This guy was in another square pounding away on a piano-on-a-wagon. He was good!
The Pantheon, St Etienne-du-Mont, The Hotel California (you can never leave).
The University of Paris
Meanwhile back along the quay, we were surprised to see about 500 roller-bladers whiz by for no particular reason. Maybe they do this every Easter. We lacked the French speaking skills to find out.
Guess what happened then? That's right, time for a Guinness!
Heading back to our apartment.
These guys were killing it at the corner of Rue de Seine and Rue de Buci. There was a nice crowd enjoying the show.
Our favorite sweets store on Blvd St Germain. We had dinner in on Easter with slices of roasted pork from a street vendor and other goodies we had collected for the occasion, including some fine French wine.
Ireland, New Market and Dingle
Paris, Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday
